Education; Islamic ethics; Arab countries.

On the philosophy of religion and theological anthropology of Islam in the light of Sūrat al-Furqān of Qurʼan.

In her film, Desperately Seeking Susan, Susan Seidelman continues her inquiry into the relations between the “center” and the “margin” in contemporary culture. The ideology of the film represents the center — the status quo — as the site for mature negotiations of communal values, whereas it constructs the margin — the locus of opposition — as an instance of self-indulgence, transgression, and extremity. This is the same theme in her first film, Smithereens. This fascination with the tension between the (...) center and the margin is interesting in that it enacts the “politics of reluctance” of fairly successful upper bourgeois who in their youth learned a political language and a set of attitudes now being tested in their middle years by new political “realities.”. (shrink)

Brooks' Lost in America is a somewhat parodic and amused exploration of the fantasy of freedom. But it is also an ideological maneuver to reinscribe, albeit humorously, the existing economic order by “showing” all oppostition as impractical. In spite of itself, the film is more a discourse on history and the need for a homogenized “tradition” in a consumer society than what it professes to be: an account of self-origination. 11 thus demonstrates that the fate of individuals cannot be scrutinized (...) outside history. The relation between contemporary American culture and the past is fraught with contradictions engendered by American society's view of social “change.”. (shrink)

Authors philosophical notes on life, conduct of life from the perspective of a life.

Orientalism; Spain; Islam; relations; Christianity.

An analysis of Marxist aesthetics, with reference to Nepal.

Purpose – To review and discuss Luciano Floridi’s 2019 book The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design, the latest instalment in his philosophy of information (PI) tetralogy, particularly with respect to its implications for library and information studies (LIS). Design/methodology/approach – Nine scholars with research interests in philosophy and LIS read and responded to the book, raising critical and heuristic questions in the spirit of scholarly dialogue. Floridi responded to these questions. Findings – Floridi’s PI, including (...) this latest publication, is of interest to LIS scholars, and much insight can be gained by exploring this connection. It seems also that LIS has the potential to contribute to PI’s further development in some respects. Research implications – Floridi’s PI work is technical philosophy for which many LIS scholars do not have the training or patience to engage with, yet doing so is rewarding. This suggests a role for translational work between philosophy and LIS. Originality/value – The book symposium format, not yet seen in LIS, provides forum for sustained, multifaceted and generative dialogue around ideas. (shrink)